So  the time came to decide on buildings for the new layout and we had decided to do metcalfe . i personally had never wanted to do them as i though CARD they would be tacky and flimsy …how wrong was i they are very well made and the detail is amazing (just sadly lacks inside detail)but our pub has a wedding function room and a bar ,the shop is a sweet shop with sweetshop scene in it and the cafe has a cafe scene inside. upstairs have bedroom scenes and all windows have blinds or curtains not just the front like they say .all the buildings will light up and once they are i will show you them again in more detail but for now here are some of them built in brief for now 
here is the pub from front


 the pubs beer garden/court yard with metcalfe table in it 



 its not been stuck to its card base as i prefer to flock and gravel (real)

 parish church …now this is one amazing detailed item 




old barn ans sheds
 

 semi detached houses with garages 



they are still work in progress but so far im very pleased with the results 

They look good. That church in particular looks fabulous!

[user=1560]emmess[/user] wrote:

They look good. That church in particular looks fabulous!

the detail on the church by far knocks scoks off the rest its much stronger much better build in generall and the etched windows too :)

I think the church is an "updated" model - only recently re-released.

They are very tough structures, well designed and not difficult to build.  There are however, one or two niggles.

Everyone will have the same church/station/cottage/shop/school etc. on their layout unless you "doctor" them a little.  You see it all the time at exhibitions.

The exposed edges of raw card need colouring, or otherwise disguising.  I've seen fall pipes used to good effect hiding the corner folds but getting the paint colour just right elsewhere can be tricky.

Having said all that, for a row of identical properties, or a housing development, they take some beating.  Scalescenes are, IMHO, better kits but they take an age to build and are, in fact, not much cheaper by the time you've factored in the card, craftknife blades and printer ink. :roll:  Building a row of 15 or 20 terraced houses via the Scalescenes route would tax your patience ………………using Metcalfe, they'd be done before the kettle had boiled. :thumbs

They all do look good, but I have to agree with Petermac's comments. If you ever wanted to change one or two models, you could always cover them in Scalescenes paper, use Brassmaster windows or similar. Even creating some relief on the window frames and lintels, door frames and doors would make a huge difference and improve the models two fold.

For more on Scalescenes see here ; http://www.scalescenes.com/

Why not give the Scalescenes 'free download', Low Relief Warehouse a go…!

Cheers, Gary.

im not good at doctoring and im sure no dab hand at painting im not as clever as most of you guy on here im just trying and im sure if i try i will get somewhere.
i know what your saying about them all looking the same and i totally agree .
all i can say is i will try my best .

As has been said already, a bit of Scalescenes [or other makes] roofing makes  an enormous difference. Given our 'Gods in the sky' position roofs are the most prominent part of our buildings. Even washing over the odd Metcalfe roof with a light wash of grey/brown/green wash will give a pleasing variation. The inks/card now used in these models will easily take a watercolour wash, and what's more, if you don't like it and you are prompt enough you can wipe it off with a tissue.

Oh, you don't have to match edges exactly, I have a light grey, a light brown and a dark grey watercolour crayon that seems to do most jobbies!

Good luck, keep on 'carding',

Doug

I am currently building Metcalfe models for a friend's layout. As has already been said, the corners of the finished buildings need colouring which improves them no end.  For the red brick buildings I find that a Letraset Promarker 'Sunkissed Pink' is ideal for the corners as it blends in quite nicely.  Promarkers are usually obtainable from most craft shops.

Terry

Now there's a selling point for an estate agent - "Here we have a delightful early Victorian one up and one down mid terrace with 'Sunkissed Pink' corners" ………………….:thumbs

:)Excellent job of construction on your buildings,Card is a good medium to work with.

When located on your railway model they will look the business and you can add some cameo scenes with people and transport.

Keep up the good work,

Derek.

Hi,

I know what you mean when you talk about doctoring etc. I'm in the same boat, I am completely new to this but I would not let it bother you as you gave done an excellent job of these buildings. The church looks really good.

Crack on and maybe a bit of adventurous creativity will  come in time as you learn from others on the forum. However,a I will re emphasise that they are already well built projects.

Cheers

Toto